Ex-girlfriend claims Oregon tech CEO raped, videotaped her in '50 Shades of Grey' fantasy

An Oregon tech CEO has taken an extended leave of absence after police launched an investigation into an ex-girlfriend’s claims that he sexually assaulted her.

Scott Kveton, who co-founded the mobile technology company Urban Airship in 2009, has been under investigation for three months by Portland police.

The woman had contacted police three times since 2010 to report that Kveton had sexually assaulted her during their relationship.

Kveton has not been charged in any of those cases, which had not been publicly reported until this month.

The Oregonian reported last week that police records and hundreds of pages of texts, emails, and online chats provided by Kveton’s accuser show the pair engaged in a physical relationship they compared to the popular erotica novel “50 Shades of Gray.”

In those communication records, the paper reported, the woman tells Kveton numerous times that she feels he pushed her boundaries too far and filmed her during sex acts without her consent.

But she continued to see him for several years, even after reporting sex abuse claims to police.

The woman, now 34, met Kveton, now 40, online in 2008, and they began a sexual relationship while each was married to someone else.

The first sexual assault complaint came in 2010, when the woman said Kveton raped her after she fell asleep at his home.

According to a series of emails over the next several days, Kveton begged for forgiveness, apologized, attempted to rationalize the attack, and then suggested the woman might not clearly remember the incident because she was intoxicated and he was not.

They broke up about two months later, and the woman contacted Beaverton police.

She declined to press charges but obtained a restraining order against Kveton, who threatened to post explicit photos of her online or send them to her employer.

Kveton’s attorney told the woman that a public hearing on the restraining order could publicly embarrass each of them, and she agreed to dismiss the order and they eventually resumed their relationship.

She complained again to police in December 2011, after the woman said Kveton hid in her closet about four months earlier and surprised her when she arrived home from work.

The woman told police he dragged her into the bedroom and bound her wrists with tape, and she reported that he had attacked her again several days later.

But prosecutors declined to charge Kveton after interviewing him in January 2012, saying too much time had passed to collect physical evidence and citing their belief that the accuser would not cooperate.

The woman reported her allegations to Portland police earlier this year on the advice of her therapist.

Urban Airship, which allows mobile phone apps to send “push notifications,” has raised nearly $50 million from investors such as Intel and Verizon, and counts ESPN, FOX, Walgreens, and other top companies as clients.

Other messages provided to The Oregonian show emails between Kveton and other women he met on dating websites and Craigslist to participate in role-playing sex games.

He tells one woman about his career, and she asks how he’s able to participate in sexual activity at swingers clubs without being recognized.

"It's certainly a risk but Portland and the people that go to that club just aren't that uptight I think,” he tells her. "Again, the risk is sometimes the reward. :-)"

[Image via Intel Free Press/Flickr]